KHUZDAR: Hundreds of farmers blocked the National Highway, suspending traffic between Quetta and Karachi, in Khuzdar in protest against load-shedding on Sunday.

Due to the blockade, a large number of vehicles remained halted for hours. Passengers and drivers, who were fasting, faced hardship.

The farmers accused officials of the Quetta Electricity Supply Company of ill-treating them. They said Qesco officials “demand extortion money from owners of agricultural tube-wells”. The farmers told Dawn, “sub-tehsil Baghbana and rural Khuzdar are subjected to 18 to 20 hours load-shedding despite the fact that we pay bills on time”.

“When our crops are ready, Qesco starts unabated loadshedding, which destroys our crops,” they lamented.

The farmers, however, ended their protest and unblocked the highway after the district commissioner of Qalat assured them that their grievance would be addressed. However, the farmers warned that they would again block the highway if their demands were not met.

Published in Dawn, June 12th, 2017